Lecture 8: Attachment Flashcards
behaviourist view of attachment
- Pleasure derived from food is the basis of the mother-infant bond
- Food= unconditioned stimulus
- Mother= conditioned stimulus linked with food
attachment
An emotional bond with a specific person that is enduring across space and time
Harry Harlow
Tested whether the pleasure of food or pleasure of comfort is most important to infant monkeys
Harry Harlow’s monkey surrogate experiment method
- Separated monkeys from their mothers and offered them 2 “surrogate mothers”
- Wire mother: with food
- Cloth mother: without food
Harry Harlow’s monkey surrogate experiment findings
Monkeys spent most of their time on the cloth mother
Harry Harlow’s monkey surrogate experiment takeaway
This is evidence that infants needed comfort provided by cloth mother
John Bowlby
A psychoanalyst who studied the intense emotional distress of children orphaned during WWll
what did John Bowlby recognize?
- Distress due to separation from parents and not having emotional needs met
- Behaviours observed are adaptive responses to separation from an attachment figure
Bowlby’s attachment theory
- children are biologically predisposed to develop attachment to caregivers as a means of increasing their chances of survival
- The development and quality of a child’s attachments are highly dependent on their experiences with caregivers
attachment system
Distress from a threat or separation from a caregiver motivates children to seek proximity to a caregiver
features of the attachment system
- Proximity maintenance and seeking
- Separation distress
- Safe haven
- Secure base
Proximity maintenance and seeking
Children are biologically motivated to stay close to their caregivers
Separation distress
- Children become distressed when separated from their caregivers
- This activates the attachment system, which motivates a child to seek proximity to their caregiver
Safe haven
- The caregiver provides comfort and a sense of safety when a child feels distressed
- The caregiver helps maintain arousal through coregulation
- Once proximity and reassurance have been achieved, the attachment system deactivates
secure base
- The caregiver provides a child with a sense of security from which they can explore the environment
- They cannot explore the environment as the attachment is activated
Mary Ainsworth
Provided empirical evidence of attachment theory by developing the strange situation procedure
strange situation procedure
a paradigm designed to systematically assess children’s attachment to a specific caregiver
strange situation procedure
- The caregiver and child are shown an unfamiliar room with toys
- The caregiver and child are left alone in the room
- A stranger enters, tries to interact with the child
- the caregiver leaves the child alone with the stranger; the stranger allows the child to play/offers comfort
- the caregiver returns and the stranger leaves; the caregiver allows the child to play/offers comfort
- the caregiver leaves the child alone
- the stranger enters; the stranger allows the child to play/offers comfort
- the caregiver returns
what attachment behaviour is assessed in the strange situation?
- exploration + caregiver as a secure base
- reaction to a stranger
- separation distress
- reaction to the stranger’s comforting
- reaction to the reunion
Ainsworth’s four attachment styles
- secure
- insecure/avoidant
- insecure/resitant
- insecure/disorganized
frequency of secure attachment
60%
frequency of insecure/avoidant attachment
15%
frequency of insecure/resistant attachment
10%
frequency of insecure/disorganized attachment
15%
behaviour of securely attached children in the strange situation
- uses parents as a secure base
- is upset at separation
- seeks the parents at reunion and is easily soothed by the parent
behaviour of insecure/avoidant children in the strange situation
- readily separates to explore
- avoids or ignores the parent when they return after separation
- does not prefer the parent to the stranger
behaviour of insecure/resistant children in the strange situation
- does not separate to explore
- wary of the stranger even when the parents is present
- extremely upset at separation
- not soothed by the parent and resists the parent’s attempts to sooth
behaviour of insecure/disorganized children in the strange situation
- often freezes and dissociates
- behaviour is confused and contradictory
- seems to want to approach the caregiver but sees them as a source of fear
legacy of the strange situation
- Attachment styles replicated in several studies
- Attachment styles are universal with approximately the same frequencies
- Remains a standard measure of children’s attachment style
- Attachment styles in the Strange Situation are strongly correlated with attachment behaviour at home
determinants of attachment style
- parenting
- genetics
parenting and attachment style
there is a correlation between parental sensitivity/support and child’s attachment style
genetics and attachment style
there is no evidence that specific genes are related to attachment styles, but there is evidence for differential susceptibility
behaviour of parents of securely attached children
- Generally supportive/sensitive reactions to the child
- Affectionate and express frequent positive emotions towards the child
- Initiate frequent close contact with the child
what do securely attached children learn based on their parents’ behaviour?
that proximity seeking is a good strategy to soothe distress
behaviour of parents of avoidantly attached children
- Consistently insensitive to the child’s signals
- Avoids close contact or rejects the child’s bids for contact
- May be angry or impatient
what do avoidantly attached children learn based on their parents’ behaviour?
- Proximity seeking is not a good strategy to soothe distress
- Deactivates the attachment system
- Avoids proximity of the caregiver when distressed and instead relies on self-soothing
- They cope with distress by hiding it or avoiding situations that elicit distress
- But, they display biological signs of stress when separated from their caregiver
behaviour of parents of resistantly/anxiously attached children
- Inconsistently supportive/sensitive in reacting to a child’s distress
- Seems overwhelmed with caregiving
what do resistantly/anxiously attached children learn based on their parents’ behaviour?
- Proximity is sometimes a good strategy to soothe distress
- They should hyperactivate the attachment system
- Hyperviligance to threat
- Excessive proximity-seeking of the caregiver when distressed
- They cope with distress by heightening it
behaviour of parents of children with disorganized attachment
- Confuses or frightens the child
- May be harsh or abusive
- Often struggle with severe mental health issues
what do children with disorganized attachment learn based on their parents’ behaviour?
- Proximity-seeking often results in feeling scared
- The caregiver is extremely unpredictable and cannot be trusted
genetic differential susceptibility and attachment study sample
Ukrainian preschoolers
genetic differential susceptibility and attachment study aim
examine the relationship between attachment, caregiving environment (raised in an orphanage or with family), and variations in serotonin transporter gene
variations in the serotonin transporter gene
- S allele vs. L allele is associated with greater reactivity to stress
- Biological marker of greater sensitivity to the environment
genetic differential susceptibility and attachment study findings
Children with a least one S allele (vs. 2 L alleles) had more attachment disorganization if raised in an institution. However, they had less attachment disorganization if raised with their family
genetic differential susceptibility and attachment study takeaway
this suggests that genes related to environmental sensitivity and parenting work together to affect vulnerability to insecure attachment
9 benefits of secure attachment
securely attached children:
1. Are more emotionally expressive (in appropriate ways)
2. Experience more positive emotion
3. Are less anxious and depressed
4. Are less likely to have behavioural problems, like aggression and delinquency
5. Have closer relationships with peers later in childhood
6. Show more empathy and helping behaviour
7. Are more socially competent in general
8. Do better in school
9. Have more positive romantic experiences in adolescence and adulthood
having one secure attachment
- Having at least one secure attachment seems to buffer against the negative effects of insecure attachment
- Children with insecure attachment to both parents had more behaviour problems than children with insecure attachment to just one parent
internal working models
Mental representations of the self, of attachment figures, and of relationships in general
how are internal work models constructed?
as a result of experiences with caregivers
what happens once internal working models are constructed?
- They act as a filter through which interactions with the caregiver and other attachment figures are interpreted
- They guide expectations about relationships throughout life
- They guide a child’s behaviour in interactions
two dimensions of attachment
model of others and model of self
model of others
Can others be relied on for support?
model of self
Am I worthy of love?
positive model of others and self
secure attachment
positive model of others and negative model of self
resistant/anxious attachment
negative model of others and positive model of self
avoidant atttachment
negative model of others and negative model of self
disorganized attachment
secure attachment
expect relationships to be rewarding, comfortable with closeness, and worthy of love
resistant/anxious attachment
strong need for closeness but worried about rejection because they are “not good enough”
avoidant attachment
disinterested in closeness and intimacy but very self-reliant
disorganized attachment
distrustful of others but also sees the self as deserving of rejection
Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD)
A longitudinal study conducted across 10 cities in the USA examining the effects of daycare on attachment
Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) sample
Studied 1364 children from birth to adolescence
what did SECCYD measure?
- Childcare setup and quality
- Children’s attachment to the mother using the Strange Situation
- Quality of the mother’s interactions with children
- Children’s social behaviour and cognitive development
SECCYD results
- Attending childcare had no effect on attachment security
- Maternal sensitivity was the strongest predictor of children’s attachment security
- Aspects of childcare only had an effect on attachment security if the child experienced risks in the home
15-month-olds in childcare vs. not in childcare
15-month-olds in childcare were just as likely to be securely attached to their mothers as children not in childcare
maternal sensitivity and childcare quality
- Low maternal sensitivity + poor quality childcare = less secure
- Low maternal sensitivity + high quality childcare = more secure
Implications of the SECCYD
- Childcare does not undermine parent-child attachments security
- Childcare can compensate for negative parenting experiences at home by promoting attachment security
